


Dear Lily,

by whelvenwings



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, F/M, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter Friendship, Letters, Luna Lovegood & Harry Potter Friendship, M/M, Remus Lupin & Lily Evans Potter Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-05
Updated: 2018-09-05
Packaged: 2019-07-07 11:09:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15907074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whelvenwings/pseuds/whelvenwings
Summary: Godric’s Hollow is a quiet place. There isn’t much to disturb the hush - least of all at the Potters' cottage.Ivy grows in tangles; the place creaks and groans occasionally. And tucked into corners out of the rain, where caring hands have stacked them all down the years - the letters. Some are old and some look newer, but there are hundreds of them, thousands even. Some for James, some for Harry. And some for Lily Potter. From all over the world, far and near, Lily has received so, so many letters.These are seven of them.





	1. Molly

Dear Lily,

 

What a way to spend time, but I just had to write to you first.

We just got home from London, it’s the first of September. I met Harry. I met your Harry! He was standing in King’s Cross station all by himself. Can you imagine? Looking so small and lost - that’ll be Dumbledore, never explaining anything or seeing anything’s done quite right and Harry had no idea how to get through to the platform.

I knew him as soon as I saw him but I - well you don’t go up to a boy on his first day of school and say “hello dear, you look just like your parents” under these circumstances - now do you? There was a bit of subterfuge went into the whole thing. Well, I walked past him and loudly declared myself a witch for all and sundry to hear, blast the Statute of Secrecy, and he came up to me himself and asked.

I’m sure James and Sirius got up to worse on that platform, knowing them. Probably caused at least one major incident.

He asked me how to get through to the platform, Lily. Your little boy. I wanted to give him a hug. He looked so thin.I’ll wager this is Dumbledore’s doing. He tells us Harry’s safe and I see he’s skin and bone? This isn’t the only letter I’ll be writing tonight, let me tell you.

Broken glasses and hair that’d break a comb. Absolutely rigid with nerves. But he was so polite. I don’t know why it should make me cry that he asked me so politely how to get onto the platform. Bless him. I’m being ridiculous. But he shouldn’t have had to be alone.

But Harry’s safe and he’s at Hogwarts and that’s what’s most important. I think Ron might have gone to sit with him on the train - he’s a good boy, my Ron. Sharp too, he saw how I got Harry’s attention at the station. He’ll know what to do.

It’s silly but I’m so terribly worried that Harry will be lonely. When the owls arrive with the post, what will he think when there’s nothing for him? Oh Lily, what about Christmas?

I’ll make him a sweater.

He’s his own boy and he’ll make his own way - but I promise you that if he needs anything, I’ll do whatever I can. Arthur too. The way you’d love Harry if you were here, I can’t give him that - no one else could love my kids the way I do - of course not. But if it were the other way round and I were gone, well I hope someone would try. I hope they’d give loving my kids a bloody good try.

This is all getting a bit dramatic. I left some soup on the stove that I just remembered.

I’ll post this. I don’t want to tear it up but I don’t want it left around the house in case someone finds it, so I’ll send it to Godric’s Hollow.

With love,

 

Molly Weasley


	2. Minerva

Dear Lily,

 

I’m writing to you because I wish you were here. 

It’s hard to know what to say. I’ve not written to you since. There’s so much I want to tell you. 

The Sorting is on my mind tonight and I remember when you first walked into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One face among many. Same as all the other first-years, looking half scared out your wits and half excited. You didn’t blend in for long. Professor Flitwick still tells the story of the time you charmed a water jug invisible on your first try and then got so excited that you tipped it up all over James Potter’s robes.

Give my best to James, if he’s with you. He favoured Transfiguration. He really was rather good, wasn’t he.

I wonder where Harry’s preference will lie. I expect with parents like you and James, he should excel in some subjects - perhaps Potions, I remember you also liked Potions. Then again, given the teacher, perhaps not. In fact, I’m getting ahead of myself. I’m quite sure Harry already has enough expectation on his shoulders.

He is very short. He looks so like James. But he has - well, you know.

You should be here - I’m writing because I wish you were here. He climbed up to put the Sorting Hat on his head today and he was sorted into Gryffindor, and all I could think about was the fact that he should be getting down off that stool and running up to the Owlery to write to you and James. I can see your faces when you hear about it. And Harry should have had you two waving him off as he got on the train. I keep thinking about that. I can see you standing hand in hand on that platform.

I am upsetting myself. I shall get to the point.

I have never been a mother and I never shall. It was not the way that things turned out. In many ways I do not understand how motherhood works and I could not possibly be that for Harry - I think he’d find the idea rather alarming. I will promise you to be fair to him. I will do my job, as his teacher, and that is all I can do. He cannot have a mother in me. I wish that he could. Perhaps I am writing this as an apology. Transfiguration is what I do but I can’t turn me into you.

I wish often that I could change our places. An old woman dreaming of giving you a chance.

In reality, what I can do is very little. Harry can have a staunch supporter in me, and there may be a day that that will make a difference. It’ll have to do.

Perhaps he’ll be good at Quidditch. Now, wouldn’t that be something. But I said I would have no expectations, didn’t I. We’ll just have to see.

I think of you and James often, and now Harry is here, I will think of you more. I will send this to Godric’s Hollow, only to know that it has been done. I know you are not there.

Yours in friendship,

 

Minerva McGonagall


	3. Remus

Dear Lily,

 

I know writing this is going to hurt terribly. Of course it will. I’m only brave enough to write at all because I finally met Harry. Why was I ever put into Gryffindor? It’s a mystery. Though I suppose in the end I was better suited than

I don’t want to talk about him. I want to talk about Harry.

I’m worried. There are Dementors at the castle this year, and Harry reacted badly to one, as anyone might expect. He said he heard you.

How strange and sickening that the first thing I felt was a stab of sudden jealousy. I stopped using that Pensieve to listen to my memories years ago because I was falling apart but I felt 

This isn’t what I wanted to talk about either. I wanted to tell you that I met Harry. I was terrified to do it for so long, scared to see you and James in him. Scared it would break me all over again. But when I spoke to him, he was just… Harry. Not you. Not James. Just Harry. And truthfully it didn’t hurt like I thought it would.

He’s got bits of you both in him, though, anyone can see that. The way he looks, but also the way he speaks and acts towards his friends. I was listening for a little while before the Dementor came in, I confess. He and his friends were being very polite and speaking very quietly but I woke up and I knew it was him the second I heard his voice. He even sounds like James did. But he said things that you might have said.

I miss our friendship, Lily. There, I can write it. I miss you, I miss James, I miss Peter. I even miss Sirius. I hate him and I miss him so much. I would kill him if I saw him and I’d kill to see him again. If there were any way to go back to how we were before I’d give anything. I’d give anything.

Ah. If you could see me, you’d say, cry it out. You and I know how the heartaches come and they go. Wasn’t that the Muggle song you used to like? I don’t think you ever saw a heartache like this coming. Or maybe we all did, and that’s why we used to sing that song round and round.

Remember when we all went out that night in London to a Muggle bar to get away from all the doom and gloom, and people were dancing? And you and James did a tango and Peter was pretending to laugh so that he wouldn’t have to dance. And Sirius and I

It was a waltz. We laughed ourselves stupid until we didn’t.

I break my heart over all of you every day. I miss you and it never goes away. But I have a home now where I hope I may stay awhile and be safe, as long as nothing goes wrong. And I will get to know your son.

Wait for me. Save me a place where you are. We’ll all dance.

 

Remus


	4. Luna

Dear Lily,

 

How are you? I hope you’re very well. You don’t know me but I know about you, everyone does.

I just wanted to write a letter to you to say thank you. You’re Harry’s mother. He took me to a party as a friend - no one’s done that before! He’s also very brave. I don’t know if anyone’s told you, so I thought I would. He’s a bit angry too. But I think he is just under a lot of stress. I am watching out for Nargles that might be worsening things, though.

I think it must be very hard for Harry because everyone knows all about you. No one talks about my mum except me and that’s bad enough. I think he really misses you.

Normally I write to my own mum on Sundays, but today I thought I would write to you instead to say thank you. If I were nice to someone and very brave then I hope that someone would tell my mum too. I don’t know where to post this so I will just give it to the owl and see what it thinks.

From,

 

Luna Lovegood


	5. Hermione

Dear Lily,

 

I feel like I have to write to you, even though if you were actually going to read this, you’d just be confused about who I am. I don’t even really know who you were. I’ve heard bits and pieces about you and of course there was lots written about you but even I’ll admit it’s not the same.

I’m a friend of your son’s; I’m a friend of Harry’s.

We’ve been through quite a lot together. He’s saved my life a few times, of course… whose life hasn’t Harry saved at this point, really… but we’re real friends, we have been for years.

So… not long ago I stood beside where you are buried in Godric’s Hollow. I was there with Harry. 

I don’t believe in many things, to be honest. I’m sorry. I don’t think you can hear me. But just in case, on the chance that this will get through, I wanted to tell you - what you did that night, years ago, Harry told me about it. The way you stood in front of him and you didn’t let anything happen to him, not even after you were gone. You tried not to let anything happen to him. You must have been so scared for him. 

I wanted to tell you that it worked and it kept working. Because of you, Harry lived. I feel like you should know that it worked. You did it. You kept him safe.

And he, in turn, kept all of us safe.

It’s important to me to say - I would have gone with him. I don’t know what it’s like to be a mother but I expect you’d have wanted someone to walk beside him. He sort of said he wasn’t alone, anyway, though. He won’t say anything more yet. He’s still very quiet.

Once there was a troll at Hogwarts and Harry came and got me. He stuck his wand up its nose, and Ron Weasley knocked it out with its own club. We were eleven. It was the most stupid thing I’ve ever seen, and it was how I made my first friends ever. If I were you I think I’d wonder if it were all worth it - I’d wonder if I should never have had a son because he’s been put through so much, hasn’t he? But if you’d been Harry’s friend, you’d know he’s absolutely worth it. You did the right thing. You did everything you could.

This is probably stupid. I’m going to send it anyway.

Yours,

 

Hermione Granger


	6. Ginny

Dear Lily,

 

This is a letter to ask permission.

You don’t know who I am, but I know everything that I could find out about you from photos and stories - my favourite one was Professor Flitwick’s, about the water jug. In all the other stories you’re quite serious and earnest, but in that one you sound a bit less starchy. Sorry, that… isn’t the right way to start this off.

I’ve known Harry for years now. I saw him on the platform at King’s Cross the first time, and then he came over to our house, and now look. He’s part of the family.

Maybe you want to know a bit about what he’s like now. Well, brave goes without saying. A bit of an idiot half the time - no, not really. It’s all the time. He’s funny, he’s sort of… well… I’m terrible with words. Especially when I care a lot.

I’m really, really in love with your son. There. That’s that.

If you were still here, you’d have done the whole thing - you know, the mum thing - you’d have interviewed me, and checked I’m a decent person who’s nice to house elves and always washes her vests. You can’t really do that and so I wanted to give you the chance.

Hello. I’m nice to house elves (signed-up member of S.P.E.W. here. Don’t ask) and I do always wash my vests. I’m good at Quidditch and hexing people. That doesn’t make me sound good. Does it help that I only hex people who deserve it? Let’s move on. What else… I’m a terrible cook. I’m kind of loud sometimes. I make terrible jokes. I’m…

I’m in love with your son. I don’t think I really have any other relevant qualifications. I’m good at lots of stuff and I think I’m a good person but really all I have to offer is how much I love Harry. I really do. I love him so much that I feel like I could burst with it, I love your son, I love him so much. Once I start saying it I can’t stop because I’m actually allowed to say it, now.

Lily, your son asked me to be his wife last night. I said yes.

Mums like you should have a say in this sort of thing. I don’t know if you can read this, but if you can, what do you reckon? If I can marry your son, if that’s OK, then… it’ll go ahead. And if it’s not OK - then send a ton of Bat-Bogey Hexes pronto, or something, and I’ll get the message.

I hope you say yes. I wish you could be here to do it all properly. I wish you could help my mum and me pick out the right dress, I wish I could hug you just for being Harry’s mum. I wish I could hug you for what you did, and what you gave so that I can even ask you this. I wish you could be there, if we marry, wearing a dress and a hat and probably crying because that’s what mums do at weddings. I wish Harry knew what it’s like to be hugged by his mum. This is getting a bit much, isn’t it?

I think Harry and I can make each other happy. I hope you like that I wash my vests.

With love,

 

Ginny Weasley

P.S. If you see my brother, please can you tell him I said hello.


	7. Harry

Dear Lily,

 

Waved from the platform as my son got on the Hogwarts Express today.

He’s a lot like Dad I think. Or like Fred Weasley. We’re expecting a Hogwarts toilet seat in the post. Ginny already has a Howler ready.

I’m older than you. By a lot. You were really young, which I didn't realise until I was older than you.

I think sometimes about how when I'm all done here, I'm going to be old. Hopefully, anyway. When I get to where you are I hope I'm small again just for a little bit so when you hug me you're the taller one. 

This is a weird letter. I don’t know what to say. I don't have the stone and I know you can't hear me. I just wanted to feel like I was telling you -

 

I’m OK. I miss you.

 

Harry


End file.
